MANCELONA -- Residents in this Antrim County community voiced disappointment, but not surprise upon hearing Dura Automotive will shutter its local factory, one of the area's biggest employers.
About 300 workers will lose their jobs when the latch-and-hinge manufacturing plant closes, although company officials did not specify a timeline to the United Auto Workers union this week.
Dura's departure is expected to have a long-lasting effect on the community.
"Obviously, it's a punch in the gut, but it's been expected. Dura is doing exactly what they said they'd do," said Ron Pavlichek, a longtime Dura employee and member of the union's bargaining team. "Everybody's worried. I'm worried. I don't want to lose my job."
Pavlicheck is a tool and dye maker with 13 years at the company. But many others have worked there longer, he said.
In February, Dura warned its employees that a factory closure was possible after union members voted against a proposed contract. Now company officials said it will be a "phased" process that should be complete by the end of the year.
"... (F)ollowing the conclusion of discussions with the union, Dura has regretfully announced to employees the decision to cease all operations and close the Mancelona site," said a statement issued by Theresa Skotak, vice president and chief administrative officer for Dura.
"While several factors were considered, a critical part of the decision was the inability of the company and the union to reach an agreement that would result in an economically viable business capable of remaining competitive in an extremely aggressive global supplier landscape."
UAW officials objected to the company's attempt to blame the union. They said the average pay rate at the plant is less than $14 per hour and more than a hundred Dura executives received bonuses during its financial problems.
"They just keep getting richer, but the workers have to pay to give them bonuses," said Rob Naugle, international representative for the union.
Workers already agreed to $2 million in labor concessions, Naugle said, but the company wanted more, including a three-year wage freeze and mandatory 10- and 12-hour work days without overtime.
"So where is the shared sacrifice?" Naugle said.
Dura's Mancelona operation includes 53 salaried employees and 250 hourly workers, company spokeswoman Shawn Brumbaugh said.
Some residents think the loss of those jobs will be devastating to the small village along U.S. 131.
"We're going to end up with a lot more people on state aid and the quality of life is going to go down," said Kenn Kicklighter, of rural Mancelona. "You know, there are not 300 open jobs in Mancelona."
Kicklighter said some workers may be able to find jobs at factories in other nearby towns, like Traverse City. But recent high gas prices could take big bites out of paychecks, he said.
Amanda Swikoski of Mancelona has a number of relatives who work at Dura, all now at risk of losing their incomes.
"I think it's going to affect a lot of people. There are so many couples who work there, both husband and wife," she said, adding that her in-laws and some aunts and uncles work at the plant.
Swikowsi predicts other regional employers will soon find a large influx of job applicants on their doorsteps.
"But there's only so many jobs, everywhere you go," she said.
Dura filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2006 and tried to sell the Mancelona factory for much of 2007. The company described the plant as a "non-core, underperforming operation" with eroding earnings in documents filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del.
The company has reduced its workforce at plants across the country. It laid off 250 employees at a Missouri plant in February. Dura is based in Rochester Hills and has close to 13,800 employees at 36 plants spread across 16 countries in North America, Europe and Asia.
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